The superhero genre has been thriving for years now, resulting in various cinematic universes competing for box office supremacy. That includes Sony's Spider-Man Universe of Characters, which kickstarted with Venom, and has grown including upcoming Marvel movies like Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Kraven the Hunter. Superhero actors normally work out a lot, but Taylor-Johnson just made a comment about Kraven's look that showed how hard the training was.
What we know about Kraven the Hunter is limited, but fans are excited to see the beloved title character on the big screen, even if it'll seemingly be without Spider-Man. Fans have spent years watching actors like Brie Larson get ripped to play comic book characters, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson was no exception. But as he explained to Numero, his fitness regimen was doubly intense because his body is going to be on full display in the movie. As he put it:
Yes, the character is immersed in the animal world and is capable of connecting to animal minds. The last two years were very intense for me because I built the character from scratch. I had to film a lot of stunts and action scenes, and follow a whole training program to put on bulk so that I would look like the character from the comic strip. My body was my costume, so I really had to work hard to get these muscles. But it was also fun to work on that. Since the film is R rated [under 17s must be accompanied by an adult], I guess it’s going to be a bit gore at times. [Laughs.]
Some points were made. While lots of actors get jacked to play comic book roles, many of them get to ultimately hide behind super suits. Hell, Jason Momoa's Aquaman 2 armor helped give him the look of being ripped.
It certainly sounds like Aaron Taylor-Johnson was fully committed to transforming his body to lead the cast of Kraven the Hunter. Of course, those of us who saw him grow up from the Kick-Ass days know he's always been in killer shape. Still, it should be fascinating to see how his work influences how Kraven appears to audiences on the big screen.
The trailer for Kraven the Hunter definitely teased how physically imposing Aaron Taylor-Johnson will be in the blockbuster. The movie's R-rating has seemingly helped it lean in on violence and gore, which should be a fun dynamic to see play out. But hopefully we'll actually get to see him face off against a Spider-Man sometime dwon the line.
The pressure is on for the Kraven movie to succeed, as Sony's universe hasn't been doing great. Morbius was a box office bomb... twice, and Madame Web also failed in theaters. If Taylor-Johnson's movie also struggles, I wonder how the studio moves on.
Kraven the Hunter will hit theaters on August 30th. While we wait, check the 2024 movie release dates.
